Happy Accidents
by md92
Summary: Rose Weasley, despite the recognizable surname and ungodly amount of freckles that go along with it, is just like any other teenage girl facing her seventh and final year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Through twists of events, aggravatingly handsome blond-haired know-it-alls, and an abundance of cousins, she just may make it out alive.
1. The Shower Accident

**Disclaimer: So far from belonging to me. It's all JK Rowling's.**

**Chapter 1: The Shower Accident**

* * *

"So I'm sure you've heard about Scorpius Malfoy's newest dalliance," Jillian Longbottom remarked to her friend as they lay on their dormitory beds one lazy Sunday afternoon after Quidditch practice. "It's quite the shocker that he's finally ditched that ice queen of his."

"Scorpius dumped Antoinette?" Rose Weasley asked disinterestedly, as she flipped through the newest edition of Witch Weekly, a little lackluster. Scorpius drama was a weekly topic among the witches of Hogwarts, and it was getting a little old, frankly.

"Yep. For… you'll never guess who." Jillian goaded her friend, plopping herself on Rose's bed with much more energy than Rose herself felt about the subject.

"Well seeing how he's steadily making his way through the houses, I'd have to guess it's either a Hufflepuff or a Gryffindor," Rose reasoned. "He's through with his Slytherin hussy, and he was all over Laura Davies last month, and she's a Ravenclaw, so it only makes sense. Don't tell me he's with Mary or Eleanor!" She finished, referring to their fellow 7th year Gryffindor girls.

"No! Not at all, it's not a Gryffindor." Jillian proclaimed, her blue eyes wide. "But you were right, she's a Hufflepuff. Cecily Fletwock."

At the mention of the girl's name, Rose let out an unladylike snort of laughter. "Oh, Jill, you're not serious!" She waited for her friend to reveal that she was joking, but all she received was a slight smirk from Jillian. "I can't believe that tart finally got what she's been after since third year." Cecily Fletwock was a bit of a joke among their peers. She was cute, no doubt, a petite blonde with soft brown eyes and long, flirtatious lashes, but she was known for her experience with the boys. Every week there'd be a new rumor about a new boy Cecily had snagged. The girls of Hogwarts liked to call it being "Fletwocked". Rose herself remembered noting all of the times Cecily's name was written up with various boys in the Astronomy Tower. Not that... ahem… Rose had ever been to the Astronomy Tower. Besides prefect duties and all…

It hardly made sense, however, that Scorpius Malfoy would want to be with such an easy catch. He was notorious for getting any girl he wanted. That rumor had started with Malfoy's fourth year, when he began dating Linnea Boot, the gorgeous Ravenclaw Head Girl at the time. It had lasted for about three months, and at the end of it, Scorpius had left poor Linnea with a broken heart.

And that had only been when he was fourteen. Scorpius was now no longer the boy he'd once been, but a man of nearly eighteen years. True, he still had the same silvery blond hair and startling grey eyes as always, but his once pointed chin had hardened to a muscular jaw, as the rest of his body had hardened, too. At a shocking 6'2", Scorpius was easily the star Keeper of the Slytherin Quidditch team, and rose to stand much taller than his comparatively smaller father. Rose had to admit that his looks were quite striking, all angular and hardened, that attracted many a Hogwarts student to him. But Rose wasn't into "hard" or brutal. Rose was more interested in his intellect and quick wit.

Over the years, and despite their lineage, Rose Weasley and Scorpius Malfoy had become what one could call "friends". Bonded by their intelligence and drive for perfection, their friendship had begun in the library and slowly expanded to other aspects of their lives. That they were rivals in schoolwork, houses, and Quidditch only served to liven their friendship. And now that they were Head Boy and Head Girl this final year at Hogwarts, it seemed they spent more time together than ever. A little competition had never hurt anyone, after all.

So it was with snorting disparity that Rose found Scorpius at their usual spot in the library later that afternoon. She plunked her heavy load of books on the hard oak table, and he looked up, not entirely shocked at her entrance. "What?" he asked arrogantly, a single eyebrow cocked up at her.

"Cecily Fletwock?" Rose hissed in a low voice, stretching the girl's name so it sounded as if it were made of at least a dozen syllables. "Scorpius, you cannot be serious."

"It's just a thing that happened," Scorpius said unconcernedly, going back to his History of Magic book, "it's nothing to make a fuss about."

"But she's such a twit!" Rose protested, finally sitting down beside him, a look of disgust marring her freckled face. "You know she's a twit! You were just making fun of her last week!"

Scorpius chuckled lowly, shaking his head as he read over his textbook. "Things change, Rosie." He said, using the nickname he knew she loathed so deeply. He glanced up to find a disgruntled Rose looking at him with disbelief. Scorpius laughed out loud, then explained, "she was there, and she was more than willing. I can't say it will happen again, but I wouldn't be particularly adverse to the idea. She certainly knows what she's doing, that Cecily."

Rose gagged dramatically and opened her History of Magic, deciding that avoiding the subject would be the only sure way of not having to think about Scorpius and that tart. Surely Goblin Wars would be much more interesting than thinking about Cecily's tongue down Scorpius' throat. Rose had never particularly disliked the girl, but now she felt disdain towards her in a way she could not explain. Why would Scorpius go with somebody so superficial and full of air? It was a well known fact that boys didn't date Cecily Fletwock for her personality. Shaking these thoughts from her head, she tried to feign interest in Wulfric the Weird and his alienations of the Centaurs. Only half a page into her reading though, she was interrupted.

"And anyway, it's not as if you can talk, Rosie." Rose looked up to find two grey eyes carefully trained on her own.

"Whatever does that mean, if I may ask?"

"Are you denying what I witnessed you doing in the 2nd floor corridor last week with a certain Ravenclaw by the name of Prescott Branstone?"

Rose could feel herself blushing up to the roots of her hair. "You saw that?" she half-whispered, eyes wide and innocent.

Scorpius smirked at Rose's apparent discomfort. He recalled the incident only too clearly. It had been branded in his mind for the past week. Scorpius had replayed that moment over and over, torturing himself with visions of Branstone's fingers entwined in Rose's brilliant curls, her arms around his neck as he pressed her against a wall. Scorpius quirked one eyebrow in response to her question and saw her cheeks begin to flame up again, matching the color of her wild, fiery hair. Tendrils of her mane escaped the French braid she'd so carefully crafted earlier in that day, and twisted to frame her face, which had a dark ink splotch on her left cheek. Scorpius had never seen anything so beautiful in his entire life.

Scorpius Hyperion Malfoy had a secret. He'd never shared this secret with anybody, not with any of the boys he hung around at Hogwarts, not with his best friend and cousin Alistair Greengrass, not with his mother, and certainly not with his father. Scorpius lived in fear of the day that somebody would discover his secret, that he had quite a large crush on his friend, Gryffindor and Head Girl Rose Weasley.

It had begun innocently, back in their first year at Hogwarts. When he'd first come to school, Scorpius had not been one for friendliness. He'd already had a best friend, his cousin Alistair, in his year and House, so he hadn't done much to extend himself to others. One day after Christmas Holidays, though, Professor Slughorn made a show of pairing up potions partners from different Houses, to promote what was at Hogwarts now called "inter-House unity". Scorpius and Rose had been paired by the luck of the draw, and consequently brewed a potion together that was so far beyond anything any of the other first years in the class had managed to muddle together that they'd received automatic grades of "Exceeds Expectations" for the rest of the term.

Throughout his seven years at Hogwarts, Scorpius had begun to cherish his friendship with Rose above nearly all else. He loved the adrenaline of arguing a particularly difficult homework question with her, the spark in her eye as she raced toward him with a Quaffle during the Gryffindor – Slytherin Quidditch matches, or the feeling of holding her, once, at the winter ball last year when he'd finally gathered enough courage to ask her to dance. Rose was beautiful, yes, but she was also brilliant and hard-working, and funny and kind. She was everything Scorpius wanted to be as well.

Scorpius was snapped from his reverie to discover Rose asking him a question, her arms crossed defiantly, but cheeks still burning pink under her numerous freckles. "How did you even find us there?" She was asking defensively.

"Merlin, Rose, you weren't being all that sneaky about it." Scorpius said, his stomach turning again with the memory of Rose snogging that Branstone git. "I was walking back from Quidditch and there you were, in plain daylight. You should be a little more careful in the future. Don't want Headmistress McGonagall walking in on you or anything, yeah?"

"Oh shut up, you." Rose said, defiantly tugging her textbook back to her, refocusing her attention on the Goblin Wars of 1542. The two continued their homework in silence for a while after that, each aware of the lingering conversation between them, but refusing to acknowledge it. Finally Rose put down her book with a sigh.

"I can't study any more of this rubbish. D'you want to go fly?"

Scorpius smiled. This was their routine. Nearly every night they'd study at the library until one of them cracked, and then they'd grab their broomsticks and head down to the Quidditch pitch in the dark, and fly under the stars until they were as physically tired as mentally.

"I've already got my broom with me." He smirked cheekily, nodding under the table. "Let's go, shall we?"

"I thought you'd never ask."

* * *

The two of them headed down to the pitch, joking and chatting, the tenseness of their previous conversation forgotten completely. Rose prattled on about some new move she was dying to try out, and Scorpius was content to listen. They paused momentarily to head to their respective locker rooms and change into flying gear, but were on the field in no time, and silently pushing off the ground to soar through the air with ease. The two of them flew lightly for the first few minutes or so, each pretending to knock the other off of their broom.

Rose relaxed into the peace of the crisp autumn night as she flew. It was nearly the end of November now, and it would soon be winter. That meant less sun and less time for Quidditch practice, and more time holed up in the library, studying for their impending N.E.W.T. exams. Rose shuddered at the thought. She was at the top of her class, but great student or not, she felt thoroughly unprepared for the exams that would end her seven years of education at Hogwarts, and thrust her into the real world. Berating herself for thinking such thoughts during her private flying time, Rose let her worries slip from her head and focused on the air whooshing through her auburn curls and the soft sound of Scorpius' broom whizzing nearer from the other side of the pitch.

After they'd been out for about an hour, the two of them decided to call it a night. Rose had tested out her new move several times, and been quite pleased with the results. It was with this positive mindset that she headed off towards the girls locker room.

There was nothing more comforting to Rose than a long shower after a hard work out on her broom. The girls locker room was furnished well, with tapestries from all of the various Houses adorning the walls, and tiles that, despite being made of stone, never seemed to get too cold. There were rows of showers with ornate faucets much like those in the Prefects' bathroom, which spewed water of the perfect temperature at the perfect height.

Once in the shower, Rose realized belatedly that she'd forgotten to bring any soap down to the pitch with her tonight. Wrapping a towel around herself carefully, Rose tiptoed to the boys' locker room and peeked inside to see if it was safe to go in. She didn't see anything or anyone, and so she quietly padded in on the stone floor.

Rose turned the last corner to enter the locker room and stopped abruptly. There stood Scorpius, drenched in water from the showers, in nothing but his own naked glory. Water streamed off his muscular back and shoulders, trickling down his body to the place where Rose was unable to tear her eyes. He didn't see her right at first, but slowly turned to where she stood as he heard her sharp intake of breath. He made no attempts to cover his nudity, but only stared dumbly at where she stood. "Rose?" he finally asked stupidly.

"I… I'm so sorry, I just… I forgot… forgot my soap, and I… I thought… I…" Rose stammered, shielding her eyes with her fingers and finally averting her gaze.

For a split second, Rose thought he was about to come towards her, but then something shifted in his face and he seemed to make some decision. "No problem, just… here, let me…" he grabbed a thick green towel from the bench beside him and wrapped his lower body in it, then found his soap. He handed it to her gingerly.

"Thank you." Rose said to the floor, her familiar Weasley blush burning on her cheeks like a beacon. "I'll… I'll be right… I'm almost…" she finally gave up and turned away, her damp hair swishing behind her as she hurriedly exited the room.

Scorpius slowly put his undergarments and trousers on, still shocked at this unexpected intrusion on his shower time. He wasn't embarrassed, he wasn't a modest man by any stretch of the imagination, but he was a bit anxious at what this would now mean for their friendship. Would this in any way harm the bond they had so painstakingly constructed over the last few years? Scorpius dearly hoped not.

When Rose returned from her shower, all fresh and clean, nothing about the incident was mentioned between them. They set off for the castle in silence, and maintained the quiet for the entire walk. When they reached the Great Hall, they murmured their goodnights and quickly made the way to their respective Common Rooms; she to Gryffindor and he to Slytherin. Nothing was said about the previous half hour.

However, Scorpius was bursting with unbridled frustration by the time he reached the Slytherin 7th Year boys dormitory. He barely grunted a hello to Alistair and his other mates before peeling off his clothes once again and putting on his pajamas to get ready for bed. Rose Weasley had just seen him naked for the first time, and it was nothing like he had imagined in his schoolboy fantasies. Scorpius didn't want this awkwardness between them, didn't need this new worry on his mind as well. It was already hard enough to keep anybody from finding out the way he felt about Rose, but now with this on his mind, it was hard not to imagine the next time he'd be naked with her, and envision Rose with a lack of clothing as well. He pictured themselves in the locker room again, surrounded by steam from the showers. He'd bloody well give her some soap, all right. He'd wash that sweat from the pitch right off of her smooth skin himself. Scorpius groaned in agony. After all, it was bloody not fair that she had been in a towel while he had nothing but his own birthday suit to wear.

Likewise, Rose was lying awake in Gryffindor Tower. She had easily begged off her roommates by announcing a painful stomachache. What Rose felt in her stomach was not an ache, but the faint flutter of butterfly wings as she recalled the evening and seeing Scorpius, quite literally, in a whole new way. She'd known that her friend was handsome and fit before; he had to be, with such a horde of girls fawning after him, but she'd had no idea that that sort of manly perfection existed underneath his school robes. In the few fleeting moments before Rose had acquired enough sense to cover her eyes with her hands, she'd had more than enough time to notice the toned musculature of Scorpius' lean body, and the soft matting of white-blond hair leading from his belly button down to his… Rose wouldn't let herself think any further than that.

Scorpius was her friend! She blushed in the dark. He was somebody to study with and to fly with and tease good-naturedly, but she'd never thought of him in any other way. She was not another one of those Scorpius Malfoy groupies. Merlin knew that the school didn't need any more of those.

With those final thoughts, Rose fell asleep, promising herself that everything would be back to normal in the morning.

* * *

Rose awoke the next morning with a purpose. She would apologize to Scorpius for the night before, and everything would be just as it should be. There was no reason that her friendship with Scorpius needed to be affected just because she saw his… well. There was no reason.

She dressed in her school robes quickly, then spent another fifteen minutes sighing impatiently as her roommates took their time getting ready for classes. "Where's my tie, Rose?" Jillian whined, throwing her hands up in the air exasperatedly. "This is the third time this week I've lost it!"

"Check beneath your bed." Rose said, knowing fully that the tie was bound to be there, as always.

"Right, thanks doll." Jillian said, procuring her crimson and gold striped tie from beneath her four-poster.

"Ellie, did you take my heeled shoes again?" Mary whined from the opposite corner.

"Ta, darling!" Eleanor said, raising one foot and grinning cheekily as Mary's mouth dropped in indignation.

"Give them back, you tosser!" She cried, while Eleanor danced away from her. Jillian lunged to catch Eleanor, but ended up falling on Rose's bed instead. As usual, chaos ensued. The fight didn't end until Mary had Eleanor cornered and Rose had to use her Head Girl status to threaten to put them all in a month's detention. Finally, the seventh year girls came down to breakfast, much later than Rose would've liked, but the squabble forgotten.

Rose spotted a messy dark head at the Gryffindor table and immediately headed over to it, the other three girls trailing closely behind. She rumpled Al's hair from the back and sat down beside him.

"Oy! What'd you do that for?"

"Just because I can, dear cousin." Rose replied, sending a cheeky grin at her cousin Albus, whose usually bright green eyes seemed rather still glued together with sleep. He blinked slowly at Rose, shook his head once and muttered incoherently, then went back to his oatmeal. As long as Rose had known him, which was all her life, Al had never been a morning person.

He glanced up, however, as the rest of Rose's roommates joined them at the table. "G'morning all," he said through a mouthful of mush. When Mary sat down across him, he swallowed quickly. "All right there, Penrose?"

Mary blushed and looked up at Al through shy brown eyes. Rose pretended to gag.

It was not a secret that her cousin and Mary had it bad for each other. Al had liked Rose's roommate ever since fifth year, but always protested that he didn't want to ruin their friendship with a relationship. Now it was seventh year, and Rose was of the mindset that if he didn't do something about it now, he'd lose his opportunity. Besides, it was clear that she felt the same way.

"The Slytherins look in top form today," Jillian said as she sat next to Rose. "It's too bad. I'd love to see a few of them injured before the match on Saturday." She and Al laughed heartily.

Rose glanced over at the Slytherin table and discovered, with a gulp, that the Slytherin team did look in top form. One particular Slytherin, in fact.

Scorpius Malfoy had been chatting with his cousin Alistair, but when Rose looked over at the Slytherin table, he suddenly glanced up and met her gaze with those intense grey eyes of his. Rose blushed and quickly looked back down at her toast. She berated herself for acting so stupid. Everything was going to be normal, there was no reason for weirdness between the two of them. She tuned back in to what Jill and Al were saying with effort.

"So what's the plan of attack, Captain?" Jillian was asking Al, her chin rested on one fist, leaning casually across where Rose was sitting.

"You'll just have to see tonight at practice," Al smiled, leaning back in his chair with his arms folded behind his head, always the picture of the confident Quidditch Captain. "I've reserved the pitch for a few extra hours this week, just to get everything worked out."

Rose snapped to attention. "I can't stay any later, Al, you know that. I've got Heads duties tonight, it's Thursday."

"Come on, Rose," Al groaned, turning to his cousin pleadingly. "We can't practice with one of our three chasers out. We'd have to put in that git Bundy, and we all know he can't chase worth shit. Just ask Malfoy if you can move your meeting to another day. I'm sure he'll understand. The guy gets Quidditch. And he'd never say no to you, anyway."

"What does that mean?" Asked Rose, taken aback.

"Well I'm not one to complain, but if Bundy comes in with another so-called 'injury', I swear I'll-"

"No, not that, you twit. About Scorpius not being able to say no to me?"

Albus laughed and ran a hand through his already messy dark hair. "Well, forgive me, but it's fairly obvious that he-"

"Rose, can I talk to you for a minute?"

Rose whipped her head around blushing, expecting to find Scorpius, but came face to face with Prescott Branstone instead. He looked down at her, his clear blue eyes waiting for a response.

"Oh, erm, yes of course." Rose stammered, standing up and gathering her things. "Just let me grab my bag."

"Great," Prescott said, his handsome face breaking out into a smile. "I can walk you to potions, then." Rose said quick goodbyes to her friends, promising to see them in potions in a few minutes, then followed Prescott out of the Great Hall, acutely aware of the interested whispering behind them.

"Rose… so, hi." Prescott said as they finally left the hall. He made no move to start walking to class, but rather stood over to the side of the staircase.

"How are you?" Rose asked, wondering what this could be about. Maybe he'd heard about Malfoy in the locker room! Oh no, oh no, oh no.

"So, how have you been?" Prescott asked congenially, pushing his dark flopping hair out of his eyes. Prescott was quite tall, about six feet tall, and that was a relief to Rose. She'd always been on the tall side herself – she blamed her father – at about five foot eight, so finding a tall guy was necessary. However, Prescott's hair was one of the first things Rose had liked about him. It always seemed to flop in just the right spot. It was silly, but Rose always used to wonder at how soft it looked. Last week she'd found out for herself. It was soft. She stared at it, just where it covered his left eye, and then realized that Prescott was still waiting for her to answer his question.

"I've been well." She smiled genuinely. "Busy with Heads duties and Quidditch practice and N.E.W.T.s revisions, of course, but well. And you?"

"I've been… I didn't bring you out here to talk about N.E.W.T.s, Rose." Prescott said abruptly, seeming suddenly nervous. He wiped his hands on his robes as Rose watched in silence. "I wanted to say… I wanted to tell you that I like you a lot, Rose. That day last week was, well, it was special for me, and I'd like it to happen again. Often." He finished, smiling shyly down at her. Rose's heart melted a little.

"I really like you too, Prescott." She said, returning his smile.

"I was wondering… if you might like to be my girlfriend, Rose?"

Rose had had boyfriends before. In fourth year she'd dated fellow Gryffindor Donald Creevy, and in fifth year she'd gone to Hogsmeade a few times with a sixth year Hufflepuff named Toby Montmorency, who all of the girls had been wild over. But for the past year or so Rose had seen no reason to date. Boys her age had all seemed rather immature and boring. Except Prescott was different. Prescott was serious about his schoolwork, and was right up there with Rose at the top of the class. He had been a prefect since fifth year, just as she had, and would have undoubtedly been Head Boy if Scorpius hadn't. Rose quite liked Prescott. Not to mention that hair of his.

"You know, I would love to." Rose said with a grin, which Prescott returned gratefully. He slowly tucked a piece of her flaming red hair behind her ear, then leaned down and gave her a quick, but meaningful peck on the lips.

"Well I'm glad we've gotten that settled!" Prescott clapped his hands together in a businesslike fashion. "Shall I walk you to class, Miss Weasley?" he said, picking up her leaden bookbag from her shoulder with ease and taking her hand in his.

"You may, Mister Branstone." Rose said laughing. They walked down to the dungeons chattering and laughing gaily, taking quick pauses to give each other a peck or two when there were no other students around. When they rounded the corner to the dungeons, however, they were surprised to find somebody already there.

"Malfoy." Prescott said congenially, nodding to the other boy. Malfoy nodded his blond head in return, his gaze trained on Prescott, never smiling.

"I'm going to go talk to Professor Slughorn quickly," Prescott said, either not noticing or caring that Malfoy was acting suddenly chilly towards him. He released Rose's hand and kissed her on one cheek. "See you inside, Rose." He said with a wink.

Malfoy watched him go inside, then slowly turned to look at Rose, who was nervously studying her trainers. "Well that was… sweet." He said when he realized Rose wasn't going to say anything for herself.

"I'm sure I don't know what you mean." Rose said, still eyeing her shoes. Scorpius snorted and Rose looked up, shocked to see a sour expression on his usually smooth face.

"Well if you want to go off gallivanting around with Branstone, flaunting it for everyone to see, then it's none of my concern." He said scathingly, one eyebrow cocked in taunting.

Rose was utterly confused. "Gallivanting? Hardly! He merely asked if I would be his girlfriend."

"And what did you say?" Rose was surprised by the hardness in his tone.

"I said… yes. I said I would." She looked into those now cold grey eyes, searching for some explanation. Was he mad about what had happened in the locker room yesterday? Was he waiting for some sort of apology? "Look, Scorpius, if this is about last night then I'm…"

"Last night? What happened last night?" Scorpius asked, daring her to say more. Rose faltered, unsure of what to do next. His face was like cold marble, impossible to read. And yet there was a glimmer of something beneath the surface, a ghost of the friend she'd come to know and love behind this unreadable mask.

"Scorpius, I don't know what you want from me." She finally said, helplessly. Something in his face changed, and for a moment, she saw a boy just as helpless as she felt, but then the rest of the N.E.W.T.s level potions students arrived in a loud group of giggling and talking and shouting.

"Just forget it. I'm sorry, Rose." He said quietly, his eyes trained on the ground. "I was having a bad morning and I didn't mean to take it out on you." Without another word, he turned into the classroom and left her there speechless.

Rose had trouble gaining focus after that. All throughout their double potions class, Rose kept trying to catch Scorpius' eye. He had been uncharacteristically upset that morning, and she still couldn't help but wonder if it had anything at all to do with the night before. Merlin, why had she been so stupid? He was obviously shaken up about it, for some reason. Perhaps he thought that she'd let their friendship be affected by it? Well if that was the case, she'd just take care to straighten that matter right up after class.

In the meantime, Rose turned her attention back to the Draught of the Living Dead potion she'd been neglecting. She was disheartened to see that it had turned an odd sort of putrid green instead of the desired lilac it should have been at this stage. She glanced over at Albus' cauldron next door and sighed. He'd, of course, already reached the final stage, his potion turning crystal clear as he stirred it. Albus was a genius at Potions. It was the only subject in which he soundly bested Rose every time.

Quickly she added the last few ingredients and crossed her fingers in hopes that the potion was not completely lost. With much prodding, the brew finally turned a pale lavender. Sighing with relief, Rose filled her flask just as Slughorn called the class to a close.

The students filed out of the dungeon noisily. Prescott said a hurried goodbye to Rose and rushed off to his Arithmancy class. Rose had her focus trained on the bright blond head in front of her, weaving above the sea of black school robes. She followed Scorpius up the stairs and through a busy corridor, then outside and across the grounds to their next class together, Herbology. Rose struggled to keep up, but his legs were so damn long, it was impossible to do so. Rose didn't know if Scorpius was unaware that she was behind him, or if he simply didn't care. Either way, he was at least fifteen yards in front of her when the sixth years emerged from their Herbology lesson, Cecily Fletwock among the throng of giggling girls.

Rose seemed frozen to the wet grass as she watched Cecily's face light up at seeing Scorpius, and detach from her group of girls to plant a wet kiss on his lips. Instead of brushing her off as he normally would've done, Scorpius grinned cheekily and pulled Cecily around the side of the greenhouse, not taking care who saw them go. Rose watched with lead in her heart as the pair of them disappeared from sight. But she could've sworn that just before he rounded the corner where she could no longer see, Scorpius turned to look her straight in the eye.


	2. Accident Prone

**Disclaimer: Sadly, not mine. **

**Chapter 2: Accident Prone**

* * *

Dating Prescott Branstone, it seemed to Rose, was a full-time job. First off, he expected study sessions in the library at least every other day ("We'll have to start going more often once it gets to the crunch of N.E.W.T.s season!"), walking together in-between classes, and of course the scheduled Hogwarts trips to Hogsmeade.

It was because of this that Rose found herself among the rows of plants in Dogweed and Deathcap one crisp November day when she would have much rather been nestled up in her favorite plush corner chair in the Gryffindor Common Room, reading the latest Muggle novel her mother had sent. Prescott, his arms laden with Herbology tools and a cooing Screechsnap plant tucked under one elbow, carefully made his way over to where Rose stood admiring a young Mimbulus Mimbletonia in its pot. His silky dark hair flopped into his eye as he spoke, "I'm all through in this shop. Shall we go, then? Three Broomsticks sound nice to you?"

"Yes please," Rose responded with a shy smile. It had been nearly a month, and yet she still could not believe that Prescott Branstone was still interested in her. He was the Golden Boy of Hogwarts, handsome and charming as he was intelligent. Almost overnight, they'd morphed into the school's newest "it" couple. It was much more limelight than Rose was used to receiving, but Prescott seemed to thrive in it. He'd take every opportunity to hold her hand, and had no qualms about kissing her rather soundly in public. Just the other day, Rose had been walking to the owlry with Scorpius, one of the rare moments they'd had together in the last few weeks, when Prescott appeared out of nowhere, picked her right off the ground and stuck his tongue down her throat. When she'd finally been released, rather breathless and dizzy but feeling quite adored, Scorpius had gone on ahead of her.

The walk to the Three Broomsticks was quick, but chilly. Dead and cracked autumn leaves crunched beneath their feet, and a fine dusting of frost blanketed the cobbled streets, reminding them that the Christmas season was not so far off. Rose tugged her Gryffindor scarf up to cover her mouth while Prescott, ever so dashing and chivalrous, pulled her close in to him to keep her warm. When they arrived, he directed Rose to a table while he went up to pay for two butterbeers. Rose took her time removing her gloves and thick cloak, reveling in the warm fire that seemed to radiate warmth throughout the pub.

"Well, look who it is! Fancy seeing you here," Rose turned to meet the brown eyes of Cecily Fletwock, her plump pink lips turned up in a smile, tugging a brooding Scorpius Malfoy by the hand. "Mind if we join you?" She asked, all lovely innocence.

Rose all of a sudden felt rather like a troll. She patted down her mass of curls that had just been released from the hat she'd removed.

"Hey, Cecily, Malfoy." Prescott had rejoined their group with two steaming butterbeers. "Grab a seat." Rose watched as Cecily and Scorpius sat down at their table, the latter not quite meeting her eyes as his girlfriend babbled on.

"Rather cold for November, don't you think?" the blonde was saying, taking off her coat to reveal a rather low-cut shirt made of a light flowy material. Rose resisted the urge to suggest that her improper choice in attire was perhaps why she was so chilly. "Scorpy and I were just taking a look around, but I thought we might stop in somewhere for a drink, though Madam Puddifoot's is closed this weekend. I simply can't imagine why they'd do that when there's a Hogsmeade visit going on…"

As Prescott listened attentively, Rose drowned the younger girl's chit chat out to focus on her friend. Scorpius had been silent since they'd arrived, and was playing with the corner of his napkin rather sullenly. It occurred to Rose that she hadn't properly seen him in the last few weeks since she had begun dating Prescott. The thought saddened her. Scorpius had, over the last year or so, without a doubt become one of her very best friends, and it made her ill at ease to think that she might lose him over what she had now privately named "The Shower Incident". Her cheeks reddened at the memory. Perhaps she ought to make more of an effort to get things back to how they used to be between the two of them.

When they'd finished their butterbeers, plus a round of Firewhiskey on Scorpius, whom Madam Rosmerta had a special soft spot for, Prescott placed his hand on Rose's upper thigh under the table. She stilled, inhaling quickly with shock. In the last month, they'd gone from sweet tender kisses to rather intense groping sessions, but Rose hadn't allowed him to go on any further than that. However, he'd seemed little by little less patient over the last few days. Rose had thought a lot about what the next step in their relationship would be.

She knew both Jillian and Eleanor had been with guys before, Jill with Kevin Clearwater just last spring, and Ellie with some American boy she'd met while traveling abroad last holiday. But stories from her roommates did nothing to prepare her for the physical realities of sex, for the act of sex itself. Rose knew enough to assume it might be a little painful and awkward. And messy. To be honest, she wasn't sure if she thought it sounded all that enjoyable.

"You reckon y'wanna get out of here?" Prescott breathed into her ear, smelling a bit like firewhiskey. Rose met Scorpius' gaze from across the table. Laughter gone from his face, his eyes were dead and cold, boring back into her own. Rose couldn't believe it. He was supposed to be her friend, and he had not been happy for her ever since she had begun dating Prescott. Here was a boy who liked her, who really liked her, and Scorpius could not accept it. For some reason, his obvious distaste for Prescott only made her determined to irk him further.

"Yes, please." She replied, gazing up through her eyelashes at Prescott, and rubbing one had against his arm, slowly, deliberately. She could feel Scorpius' eyes tracing its pattern on Prescott's arm, and she basked in the deliciousness at his visible discomfort.

Both Scorpius and Rose were shocked out of their silent competition with the abrasive, high-pitched sound of Cecily's giggle. "Uh oh, Scorpy," she tinkled, though Rose knew he detested that nickname, "We'd better leave these two lovebirds alone." Cecily laughed again, causing Scorpius to wince, although if she noticed, she made no response. Her gloved hand was already pulling him towards the door of the pub.

"It was lovely to see you, Cecily," Rose said with syrupy sweetness, wondering inwardly when she'd become so catty, "and I will catch you at the Prefects meeting later, Scorpy."

Steely grey eyes met blue, and she knew in an instant that she would pay for this later.

* * *

When they finally made their way back to the castle, Rose expected that she and Prescott would part ways to their respective dormitories, or at the very most, he would walk her to Gryffindor Tower before saying farewell for the night. She was surprised, however, when he pulled her into one of Hogwarts' many broom closets on the third floor and began to kiss her fervently. Rose was all for snogging sessions, and was even known to instigate one or two herself, but there was a mop digging into her side that she just could not ignore.

"Prescott, hey, slow down there a second," Rose laughed, coming up for air. He reluctantly let go of her face, but his left hand continued stroking her back in circles made no sign of ceasing anytime soon. Though it _was_ quite nice, Rose mused. He had large hands. Rather soft, she had noticed. Hands used for turning pages in the library, rather than for, say, quidditch... She forced herself to focus on the task at hand, rather than dreaming of calloused broomstick-calloused boy hands. "I'm not complaining about the kissing by any means, but could we perhaps do it elsewhere? This isn't exactly the coziest location..."

"God, Rose, I thought you were going to drive me mad in the pub earlier," Prescott murmured into her hair, either ignoring her or purposefully changing the subject. His hand on her back mimicked the circles that she had made on his arm earlier to annoy Scorpius, dipping lower and lower until it came to rest on her arse. Rose felt a sudden jolt of electrifying dread. What had she done? The firewhiskey that had spurred on her actions earlier had all but worn off, and she worried that she'd somehow given Prescott the wrong idea about where their date today would be heading. It wasn't that she didn't like the guy, or anything like that, but they had only been dating for a month, and she wasn't anywhere near ready to take this next step. Not only that, but Rose wasn't so sure she wanted her first time to be in a broom closet.

_Or with Prescott at all. _

Where had that voice come from? Prescott was a perfectly nice boy. Rose went through the checklist in her head again, the one she pulled out whenever somebody asked her how their relationship was going. He was handsome (check), intelligent (check), hardworking and respectful (check, check, although she had to admit the second point could certainly be doubted, now that he was fondling her arse in a broom closet). Rose wondered, especially in this moment, if they quite had the same idea of what they wanted out of this relationship.

Before she could say anything further, however, the door to the cupboard was flung open with a bang.

"Aha!" Filch, the ancient Hogwarts caretaker, grabbed the two of them by the scruff of their jumpers before either Rose or Prescott knew what was going on.

"Fornication!" he declared, though Rose thought it was quite an unfair assessment, seeing as how they were both still fully dressed. He marched the two of them along the corridor, still holding them apart at an arm's length, "Fornication on school property! I'll have you both in detentions until you graduate for this! Fifty points from Gryffindor! Fifty points from Ravenclaw! And you'd better move along before I make it more…"

"Mr. Filch!" came a sharp voice from behind them. Rose turned to see Headmistress McGonagall striding down the hallway, faster than a woman her age should have been able to do. "Unhand those students at once! You are well aware that you are not allowed to give detentions or take away House Points. ''

Filch dropped the two seventh years reluctantly, muttering something under his breath about the good old days and hanging students by their thumbs in the dungeons. With a sharp, slightly exaggerated bow to the Headmistress, he creeped off, most likely to try and torment some other unsuspecting students, Rose thought.

"Miss Weasley, Mr. Branstone, I trust that I will not find the two of you in this predicament again?" McGonagall said, her one eyebrow cocked so high it nearly disappeared into her tight grey bun. Rose idly wondered if the Headmistress slept with her hair wound so tightly, and if it ever gave her a headache.

"Of course not, Professor. We're deeply sorry," Prescott stated for the both of them, his magnificent hair flopped over his face as his head hung low, "It won't happen again."

"Good," McGonagall said, looking uncomfortable, straightening her already rigid spine, "I should hate to have to owl your parents to inform them of your… trysts." She stared pointedly at Rose as she said this, and she knew her professor was specifically talking about her father. She gulped. He would have a heart attack if he ever even suspected his dearest Rosie had done so much as hold hands with a boy.

"Please make your way back to your house common rooms, and we shall forget this has ever happened, shall we?" the old Headmistress said, looking almost in pain to be talking about her students' sex life. Both Rose and Prescott nodded, and she set off in the opposite direction, brisk as ever.

Rose looked at Prescott, only just remembering the compromising situation they had been in before Filch had caught them. She blushed deeply, but before she could speak, he beat her to it..

"Save that for later then, yeah?" He winked suggestively, in a way that Rose knew should make her swoon. Instead, she felt a little nauseated. She forced a smile.

"Good night, Prescott. Thank you for the lovely day in Hogsmeade."

"Good night, Rose. The pleasure was all mine." He kissed the top of her head, gently, and Rose smiled to herself. This was the way things were supposed to be. This was her sweet, caring boyfriend, not the ravenous teenage boy who'd been with her in the broom closet. If only he would remain this way all the time.

* * *

Rose didn't know if it was Filch bitterly seeking his revenge, or a passerby who had witnessed the whole exchange, but by Monday morning, every Hogwarts student had heard that Prescott Branstone and Head Girl Rose Weasley had been caught in a compromising situation in a broom closet. The Hogwarts rumor mill, as it was wont to do, had gone wild with the story, twisting it into several different versions so that the truth was virtually unrecognizable from the gossip being spread from student to student.

By midday Monday, Rose had heard that she was expelled for indecency, that she was several months pregnant with Prescott's love child (she self-consciously smoothed her school jumper over her flat stomach after hearing that one), and, perhaps most disturbing of all, that Filch had been invited in to join the two of them in their actions.

With her head down and Jillian and Albus on either side for support, she quickly walked to her afternoon Transfiguration class, attempting not to make any eye contact with passing students, her cheeks flaming at the embarrassment of the entire situation.

"Rose! Oi, Rose!"

_Dear god, not another question on whether or not McGonagall had caught them in the actual act of…_

"Sorry! Not taking any more questions for today!" she waved the owner of the voice off, not even bothering to look back and see who it belonged to.

"But, Ro-"

"Yes! Yes, okay?! I am being expelled from this hell of a school for _doing it_ in a broom closet, and I am going to live as a muggle for the rest of my days, so you can just go and tell ALL your little friends that-" She turned around to meet the vaguely amused smirk of Scorpius Malfoy. "Oh... it's you." She could feel her cheeks burning.

"Yes," he said, and she could tell he was trying his best not to laugh at her. "It's me. I wanted to know if you got the memo about the change in the patrol timetables for this week. We have been moved to patrol for tonight because Holly Carr is sick with the dragon pox."

"Oh, that's fine…" Rose flushed, waving her hands at her sides, wishing suddenly she had something else to do with them. "That works for me."

"Yeah?" Scorpius peered back at her, the hint of laughter still in his eyes, though he had managed to hold it in, Rose noticed gratefully. "You're not going to be too busy starting your life over as a muggle due to expulsion?"

"Oh sod off, you prick," Rose finally laughed, feeling better than she had all day. "I'll see you later at patrols."

* * *

At approximately half nine, Rose stepped out of the portrait hole of the Gryffindor common room to find Scorpius waiting for her, as he'd always done for their patrols together. They walked in silence for a ways, he twirling his wand in his hands as he walked, and she nervously tugging at a wayward red curl. There were no students out tonight, which was a fairly uncommon occurrence, so the two meandered through their usual patrol route, and even Rose agreed to take a break and sit for a while once they'd reached the Astronomy tower. It was a large castle and they had walked for quite some time, after all.

Rose was often amazed at how comfortable the silence was when she was with Scorpius. He wasn't a particularly talkative bloke – rather, he chose his words carefully for when he could make them count. She was the exact opposite. Her mother was forever telling her to slow down and think before she spoke, for she was always talking a mile a minute, and often before considering what she was saying. Rose normally hated silence. It always made her feel anxious, like she had to speak twice as much to make up for what her companion wasn't saying.

Tonight, however, she was perfectly content to just be. In the back of her mind, there was a little niggling feeling, reminding her that they had never fully resolved The Shower Incident, but she was happy to let that go for now. Since she'd started dating Prescott nearly a month ago, she hadn't been able to spend much time with Scorpius, and she only now realized how much she'd missed his company.

"Nice night," he commented, startling Rose from her thoughts. She murmured in agreement. The silvery moon hung full and low in the sky, illuminating the grounds all the way to where the black lake lapped upon the shore. It was moments like these where Rose realized that she only had a few months left in this place. She shook that thought from her mind, resolving to put it off for a later date.

Instead, she turned to look at him, realizing that she hadn't done so fully since that night in the showers when she'd… done a bit too much looking. She blushed at the memory. Before then, she had always known that her friend was handsome. Certainly, the female population of Hogwarts made that fact hard to miss or forget, as he was a constant topic of conversation amongst the gossips of the school. Somehow, though, Rose realized she had never properly looked at him. His aristocratic profile was sharp in the darkness, and his pale skin and hair lit up almost silver where the moon shone down upon him. He had a strong chin, and a slightly upturned nose that, while wasn't quite the height of masculinity, gave him an almost impish, boyish quality that Rose thought suited him well. But those eyes. At first glance, they looked to be a light grey, but they held many colors and variances that Rose had seen come and go with his moods – a sparkling silver when he was amused, almost a blue hue when he was sad or pensive, and a dark steel that night in the showers, when he looked at her… Rose wondered what it could all mean.

"Sorry about earlier," she started, determined to think of less serious things, or at the very least, stop ogling her friend. "I was just so tired of everybody hounding me about Prescott and Filch, and I just… snapped. I didn't realize it was you.''

He chuckled slightly, though Rose could see that it didn't quite reach his eyes. "S'alright. No offense taken."

"I didn't… We didn't..." Rose had no idea why she felt the need to tell him this. If she had been blushing before, by now her cheeks were practically burning up with embarrassment. "We were completely clothed when Filch caught us. You know how he is, he just… jumped to conclusions."

There were several moments of silence. She wished Scorpius would say something to put her out of her misery, but he remained silent. He gazed down at her with a look Rose couldn't quite place. His eyes were at the same time hard and soft, and Rose felt suddenly as though her head and heart were full of Cornish pixies.

After what felt to Rose like several long years, he spoke again. "Good." He said with finality, his eyes never leaving hers. "I know it's not my place to say, but you deserve far better than a broom cupboard." He tinged slightly pink at these last words.

Rose felt as if the air had been sucked dry around her. She licked her lips, nervous, afraid to look away from his steely eyes. His gaze flicked down to her mouth as she did this, and Rose felt as if the night had risen several degrees in temperature in an instant. Time seemed to stop, and she instinctively leaned forward, her arm blazing with heat where it brushed his, despite the chilly night. She was so close now that she could count the lashes on his eyes, see his breath swirling out of his mouth in a warm fog that stood against the frigid air. She had a sudden, wild desire to lick the one freckle that stood alone on his neck.

For a second, she couldn't breathe, couldn't tell you her name if she was held at wandpoint and her life depended on it, couldn't think of anything else in the world, not quidditch, or the potions essay she still needed to complete for tomorrow, or Prescott…

Prescott.

Scorpius seemed to come to his senses at the same time she did. He suddenly stood, brushing a nonexistent speck of dust off his immaculate robes.

"Shall we be off then?" he asked casually, though Rose wondered if his voice felt a bit tighter than his usual smooth tones.

"Suppose so," she replied, deciding that if he could act as if nothing had just happened, then she could too. She stood, her head still ringing with the adrenaline of the previous moment.

The rest of their patrol went without much excitement. When Scorpius finally dropped Rose off back at the Gryffindor common room, as he always did, she had a moment of gripping fear and wild anticipation, wondering if perhaps he would try to kiss her goodbye. She was both relieved and inexplicably crestfallen when he shoved his hands in his pockets and muttered a quick good night, looking as if he would rather be anywhere else than with her. She moved as if to hug him, hoping to restore some kind of balance in their friendship, but he moved at the last instant and her hand inelegantly collided with his hard chest. It took a moment for the shock to register, and she awkwardly patted his pectoral, all while sending a quick prayer to Merlin that the earth would just go ahead and swallow her whole.

There was another moment of silence. Rose was sure there had been more of those this evening alone than cumulatively within their entire friendship.

"See you in potions tomorrow, Rose." He said, and turned to walk down the empty corridor.

Rose quickly gave the password to the Fat Lady and climbed through the portrait hole into the Gryffindor common room. Thankfully, it was empty, just the flames flickering in the fireplace making reassuring crackling sounds.

She sank into one of the plush scarlet chairs by the hearth, and buried her head in her hands, letting aloud a groan that she'd been holding in for what seemed like all night. What had happened to her? She and Scorpius had been friends – just friends – for as long as she could remember. He was pleasant to talk to, and excellent competition all around of course, but that was strictly it. She was not one of those floozies who spent hours doodling their names next to his in their diaries; she had never been one of those girls. Not to mention, she had a boyfriend! A boyfriend who she – well, if it wasn't love, it was at least a very fond _like_.

She resolved that she must just be tired. It had been a long week. The stress of classes and Heads duties and having a boyfriend was getting to her, and she was beginning to imagine herself into fancying one of her best mates. She would have a good sleep, and wake up for classes tomorrow completely cured of this insanity that drove her to do silly things like want to kiss Scorpius Malfoy on top of the Astronomy Tower. She laughed. He must have thought her absolutely batty! No wonder he'd looked so uncomfortable when he'd suggested they leave. Silly Rose Weasley had been trying to snog him, and he'd run at his first opportunity. She shook her head. She couldn't blame him.

And yet… hadn't he been the one to lean in first? Perhaps Rose had imagined it.

She finally got up to her dormitory and off to sleep, pondering that one vital question over and over again in her mind.

* * *

**I just wanted to take a tiny second here to thank everybody who has taken the time to read this story, and let you know that Chapter 3 is in the works and will hopefully be up by the end of the weekend. Lots of love, md92**


	3. Accident Waiting to Happen

**Disclaimer: If Harry Potter were mine, I would have written him to end up married to _me. _**

**_A/N: _****Thank you to those of you who are sticking with the story! I should have chapter 4 out within the next week. As always, happy reading! xoxo**

* * *

**Chapter 3: Accident Waiting to Happen**

Weeks passed, filled with study sessions with Prescott, grueling Quidditch practices courtesy of one Albus Potter, and a particularly nasty History of Magic exam Rose was sure she'd failed. Almost overnight, the Hogwarts grounds became blanketed with snow, looking remarkably like the snow globe her Nan Granger had brought back with her from one vacation or other when Rose was younger. It was to be remembered in years to come as one of the coldest winters on record in Scotland. The black lake, no longer black, was now covered in a thick sheet of ice that stretched all the way out to a point in the middle where it was rumored that the "lake monster" would come up for air. Getting to Herbology proved to be a struggle, and Professor Longbottom began teaching his lessons predominately within the safety and warmth of one of the castle's many empty classrooms, rather than making his students trudge out into the deep snow. Even the Forbidden Forest hosted snow-tipped trees, looking more and more like wintry white caps on the sagging old men Rose had seen down at the local pub than their usual ominous, upright selves.

One mid-December morning, Rose awoke to a dusting of frost on her windowsill. She took a second to admire the ice tracing swirling patterns on the glass from the warm safety of her covers, and then silently slipping from her four poster bed, she dressed quickly and stole down to the dining hall before any of her roommates arose. This was her favorite time of day. None of the other seventh year girls understood why she would rather get up hours before classes than get every last bit of the beauty sleep she could, but Rose had always been this way about her mornings. She got it from her mother.

She arrived at the Great Hall, prepared to crack open her latest novel and enjoy breakfast in peace and quiet as she did every morning. She was therefore surprised to see her cousin Al eating alone halfway down the table. Rose slid into the seat beside him, ruffling his jet black hair affectionately as she did so, purely because she knew it irked him.

"Mornin'" Al said as he attempted to flatten his hair again, his mouth full of toast. Realizing his efforts were futile, he gave up and went back to enjoying his meal. Rose was amused to see that in his tired stupor, his left elbow had been placed dangerously close to the jelly dish.

"What are you doing up so early?" she asked, buttering her own bread as she did so. It was rare to see Albus at breakfast at all on school days – he normally relied on Rose bringing him an extra bit of toast or piece of fruit to their first class of the day.

"Transfiguration essay," Al said, rubbing his temples worriedly. "Twelve inches. Just Avada me now and get it over with, will you?"

"Here," Rose sighed, digging her own essay out of her bag and handing it over to her cousin. She wasn't usually so lenient with letting others use her work, but family was family after all. "Just don't copy it word for word. You know McGonagall will be reading them thoroughly for plagiarizing." she warned him.

"Thanks, Rosie! You're the best." Al said, smiling his lopsided grin at her. He pulled out a bit of parchment and began copying down the essay, Rose glancing over his shoulder to make sure he heeded her request.

"So why are you up at this time?" Albus asked, once he had worked steadily for a few minutes. His eyes never left the parchment.

"Couldn't sleep, fancied a pumpkin juice. The usual." Rose casually leaned back on the bench, stretching her long limbs. Her fingers itched to retrieve her novel from her school bag, but she knew it was impolite to read while in others' company. She watched as her cousin paused in his work to yawn deeply.

"Long night for you?" she laughed.

"You have no idea." Al said, with a hint of a smile, a blush beginning at his temples.

Rose's interest was suddenly piqued. What was her favorite cousin hiding from her?

"Oh?" she asked casually, taking a sip of her juice for an added pause, allowing him to elaborate. When he didn't, she switched tactics. "So tell us then, what were you up to?"

Al's entire face tinged pink, and Rose sat up straighter in anticipation, staring intently at her cousin. He was clearly not telling her something big.

"You can't take the mickey if I tell you, Rose. Seriously, you've got to swear." He said, setting aside his school work reluctantly.

"Weasley family honor." Rose vowed.

"Well, all right," he said, swallowing nervously. "I suppose you'd have found out anyway, but Mary and I have… well, we've been sort of seeing each other."

Rose stifled an urge to laugh, but bit it back. She'd promised.

"Look, Al," she began, sure to tread lightly and not embarrass him any further, "This may come as a bit of a shock to you, but I've known you fancied Mary for _ages_ now. Actually, everybody's known. So while I am incredibly ecstatic for you, I'm not in the least bit surprised."

He tried to look affronted for about half a second, before breaking into the widest smile Rose had seen from him in ages. It reminded her of the face he'd made when they were four and had their first flying lesson together.

"I'm sorry, Rose, I can't help it…" he said with something that closely resembled a giggle. Rose wondered what in the world had happened to her Albus. "I'm just so happy with her. I haven't been able to tell anybody, and… she makes me so happy." He shrugged at her with a silly grin, and went back to his work before she could say anything.

Rose sat quietly beside him, her mind racing a mile a minute. She was happy for Albus and Mary, it was about time her cousin had a serious girlfriend, rather than a long string of meaningless flings. Still, something deep inside of her churned with jealousy. She wanted that. That weak-at-the-knees, can't-stop-grinning-like-an-idiot, forever kind of love. Prescott was lovely in his own right, but recently she'd had to admit to herself that he didn't get her heart racing. Not in the way it should.

At that thought, Rose looked up to meet the eyes of Scorpius Malfoy, who'd just entered the Great Hall. Instead of sitting at the Slytherin table, he seemed to change his mind and made his way towards her. He sat directly across from where she and Albus were, his grey eyes never leaving hers. Ever since the war had ended, McGonagall and the Hogwarts professors had not been so strict about seating in the Great Hall. It was all in the name of Inter-House Unity.

"Malfoy," Al greeted him with a cheeky grin, "I hear Mallory Fox is out with an injury for the match this weekend and that your reserve beater has the reaction speed of a flobberworm. Nervous for the big match?"

"Why, Potter? Scared we'll beat Ravenclaw and come out ahead of you in the league?" Scorpius countered smoothly, pouring himself a glass of juice as he did so. "Or is your confidence so low that you can't handle a little competition?"

Rose joined in, rising to the bait. "I think our confidence levels are fine, actually, seeing as we've won the cup for the last two years." She and Al high-fived, fully embracing the adolescent nature of the conversation.

Malfoy just scowled, albeit good-naturedly, and grumbled through a smile, "We shall just see about that then, won't we?"

Scorpius and her cousin prattled on about Quidditch tactics, switching to talk about the Holyhead Harpies' latest chasers, while Rose was content to sit back and listen, nibbling at a bit of toast. By the time Al was promising to take Scorpius to a match over the winter holidays, Rose had completely lost track of the conversation, and was full-out staring at the blond boy across the table from her. She watched the way his eyebrows moved with every expression he made, and wondered how she'd only just noticed that they were slightly too dark to match the color of the hair on his head. He laughed, and she mentally traced the lines of his smile…

It took her a moment to realize the subject in question was addressing her.

…be there too, won't you, Rose?"

"Huh?" she grunted, ladylike as always.

Scorpius laughed, and repeated, "You'll go to the Harpies match as well? With me and Potter?"

"Oh! Yes, of course. Wouldn't miss it." Rose busied herself looking in her bag so they wouldn't see her blush. She glanced up to see Al watching her curiously, a suspicious look on his face. Scorpius however, hadn't noticed, or if he had, he made a good show of feigning disinterest. Standing up, he announced that he was off to the Potions classroom to help Professor Slughorn set up the lecture, and, snatching the last bit of toast off of Rose's plate, he strolled from the hall, his bag slung over his shoulder in an effortlessly cool way that made Rose wonder if he knew the effect he'd just had upon her. She turned from watching him to meet Al's piercing emerald stare.

"How long?" he asked, not blinking.

"How long what?" she replied coolly, snatching back from him her Transfiguration essay.

"How long have you been head over heels in love with Scorpius Malfoy?" his eyebrows raised in question, nearly disappearing into his dark hairline.

Rose snorted. She was not in love with Scorpius Malfoy. The very idea of it was preposterous, and she told her cousin so.

"I don't know, Ro…" he replied, shaking his head, "I've known you for nearly eighteen years now, and I have never seen you so gaga around a bloke. That was almost unnerving." His mouth turned up in a smirk.

Rose huffed, now irritated that her cousin would insinuate such a thing. "Look, Al_bus_," she said, emphasizing the name he'd grown up hating, "Just because you've finally grown the bollocks to ask out the girl you've had a crush on since fourth year does not mean you are all of a sudden the Hogwarts _love guru._"

She saw his face and instantly regretted being so needlessly mean. After a moment though, he got up, gathering his rucksack as he went.

"Look, Rose, you can deny it all you want, but I know you better than anybody. And you can lie to me, and Prescott, and yourself, but that doesn't change the fact that you are in love with somebody other than your boyfriend. And to be honest, I think the reason you can't admit it is because the guilt is eating you up inside." Rose felt her insides churn. "I just hope you realize this for yourself before you or somebody else gets hurt."

And with that statement, and admittedly, a tiny stumble over the bench he had been sitting on, he was gone.

* * *

For the rest of the week, Rose pondered Al's words. Everything went back to normal between them after a mildly tense morning, but though he didn't bring up her supposed crush or Malfoy again, she could feel the heat of his gaze watching her interactions whenever either Prescott or Scorpius were around. It was driving her mad.

After all, she absolutely did not fancy Scorpius. Sure, he was a good friend, and a handsome one at that, and what she had seen that night in the showers was by no means displeasing… but that was as far as it went. It killed her to admit this, but she had never considered dating him an option before. He was a Malfoy and she was a Weasley. Being friends was acceptable, of course; she was by no means discriminatory because of war allegiances or bloodlines or any of that silly stuff, the war and inter-house unity had squashed that years ago. She would not be her parents' daughter if she still suffered from those prejudices.

But he was the son of Draco Malfoy – and she the daughter of Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger. Even if the tales of the war hadn't instilled a sense of caution where the Malfoys were concerned, she knew what her father would say if she ever brought home Draco Malfoy's spawn. What was it he'd told her on the train platform back in first year? To beat him at everything possible? Being competitors and even friends was acceptable, but giving him her heart… well, it would break her father's.

And yet Rose could not tear her eyes from him.

All week, she felt on edge. Every time he entered a room, every time he was in the near proximity, it felt as if she struggled to breathe. She was acutely aware of every movement he made, every word he uttered, and every smile he sent her way. Once, on Wednesday, his arm brushed her own in their Care of Magical Creatures lesson, and she felt a jolt of electricity all the way from her toes to the tips of her curly red hair. Looking at her notes later on that evening, she realized she'd omitted an entire page on the cockatrice while she'd been recovering from that particular incident.

By the weekend she was convinced she'd finally gone mental.

Saturday morning, the school was abuzz with excitement for the upcoming Slytherin-Ravenclaw game. Gryffindor had just barely beaten Slytherin early on in the season, and Slytherin had demolished Hufflepuff, so if Slytherin came out on top of Ravenclaw in their match, it meant that Gryffindor would need a lead of at least 350 points against Hufflepuff to beat Slytherin in the league. Needless to say, when Rose got to the Great Hall for breakfast, Al was looking nearly as queasy as some of the Slytherin players.

"Can't you just bribe Malfoy to throw the match?" he angrily asked Rose, stabbing his sausages, breaking their unspoken rule to not speak of Scorpius anymore.

Rose smiled inwardly, knowing there would be nothing she could ever do to make Scorpius want to lose this match. She glanced, now out of habit more than anything, towards the Slytherin table where he ate with his cousin and best friend, Alistair Greengrass. The boys were like day and night – Alistair with his dark hair coiffed to perfection, sharp features all hawk-like and predatorial. Scorpius shared the sharpness of his cousin's features, but his silky fair hair, still slightly mussed from sleeping, and his light grey eyes added a softness that his cousin did not possess. Both boys were wearing their silver and green Quidditch uniforms already. A silver Captain's badge gleamed from Scorpius' chest.

As she watched, the Slytherin Quidditch team began to get up, one by one, to walk out of the Hall to assorted cheers, boos, and hisses. As he passed the Gryffindor table, Scorpius sent Rose a wink. She determinedly avoided Albus' gaze.

All too soon, it was time to head down to the stadium. Rose bounced along happily with Jill and Ellie, whispering at Mary and Al, who were holding hands a few steps in front of the group.

"Where's Prescott?" Ellie asked, her cocoa skin gleaming in the bright winter sun.

Rose immediately felt guilty. She had been so wrapped up in the excitement of the upcoming Quidditch match and her newfound obsession over a certain Quidditch captain that she had forgotten all about her caring, kind, sweet boyfriend. He was, after all, a Ravenclaw, and would certainly want her to root for his team during the match by his side. But quickly scanning the crowd, Rose found he wasn't anywhere in sight.

"That's odd," she said in response, her freckled nose crinkling just slightly, "I don't see him at all." They had arrived at their seats in the stadium, and though she sat on the Gryffindor side, Rose couldn't help but feel a surge of electricity when she saw the team in emerald green exit their locker room and step onto the pitch.

"Rose!" a voice called from somewhere nearby. Rose looked up to see her younger cousin Lily recklessly knocking aside their fellow Gryffindors as she struggled to reach them, all while dragging her sheepish looking boyfriend behind her. Rose bemusedly realized that Calvin was apologizing to the Gryffindors Lily had just left in her wake.

"Rose," she said, finally reaching her destination, not hesistating to budge her older brother and his new girlfriend aside so that she could sit next to her cousin. Calvin nudged his way onto the bench as well, muttering a quick "Sorry" to Al and Mary.

"Prescott wanted me to tell you that he wouldn't make it to the Quidditch. Something about study preparation for his NEWTs practice exams." Lily squinted her brown eyes and pulled her face into a grimace, looking very much like Rose's Aunt Ginny as she did so. "I didn't even know NEWTs practice exams existed." She finished, looking around as if waiting for somebody to affirm this statement.

"They don't," Rose frowned, thinking of Prescott all alone in the library while the rest of the school was out on the pitch. "They're something he's drafted up for himself to maximize his revision quality."

Al gave a long, low whistle, while Lily looked almost offended.

"I'm sorry, Rose, but your boyfriend is a bit of a nerd."

Rose was glad when the whistle went off, signaling the beginning of the match. As she watched the players streak through the sky, her eyes focused on the lone emerald-robed figure guarding the three hoops on the far end of the field, her stomach dipped and dove as if she, too, were on her broomstick.

* * *

It had been a spectacular game of Quidditch. Neck and neck the whole time, Ravenclaw had some of the most impressive defensive flying that Rose had seen all season. However, Scorpius' goalkeeping had never been more on pointe. Neither team was able to score many points with the quaffle, so it had all been down to whoever caught the snitch first, and about ninety minutes in, Rose saw it, hovering above the Ravenclaw stands, cheekily catching the light of the sun. However, Rose was not the only one to catch its gleam; just moments later, Alistair Greengrass took a victory lap around the field, the golden orb clutched proudly in his fist.

There was to be a party that night like Rose had never imagined. The Slytherins were overjoyed at their lead in the House League, and it was rumored that one or two of them had been able to smuggle butterbeers and firewhiskey and perhaps something a bit stronger onto the gronds and into the Slytherin common room for the celebration. It was also the last weekend before winter examinations and then a two week holiday, so students were looking for any excuse to let loose a little bit.

Rose was by no means a wallflower. She had attended her fair share of parties in her time at Hogwarts, but this was like nothing she had ever experienced. By the time she and the other seventh year Gryffindor girls had showed up together, the party was in full swing. Though the Slytherins lived in the dungeons, the room cast a slightly glamorous effect for a party with its dim lighting and stone walls with secret alcoves where couples could be seen slipping off together. In fact, Rose noted with a slight gag, only seconds after they had arrived, a very intoxicated Al Potter had grabbed her friend Mary and disappeared into one of those very hiding places.

"Rose! So lovely to see you here." She turned to her left, to see Cecily Fletwock offering her a glass of what she assumed to be punch. She took it tentatively, smiling wryly at the younger girl. Cecily was wearing a silver top made of a shimmering gauzy material that showed off an ample amount of cleavage. Rose suddenly felt very plain in her fitted black jumper and skirt. She took a sip nervously, not sure what to say back.

Suddenly, Scorpius swooped in between the girls. He was, Rose could tell, fairly drunk. He grinned down at her, and she felt her insides go warm.

"Hey." She said, smiling at him, Cecily forgotten.

"Hey." He said back.

"Scorpy," Cecily whined, taking his hand. "Let's go and see the pictures Darren Brooks managed to capture of the game – he said he had one of you making a save…" She dragged him away, still chattering on. Scorpius rolled his eyes over her shoulder at Rose.

She imagined Cecily's face full of boils.

"Hey there," came a voice from behind her. She turned quickly to see Prescott standing there, his hair flopping adorably into his eyes as always. She smiled.

_This _was more like it. Her loving boyfriend, who was here to keep her company and entertain her, who wouldn't leave her side for the entire party, making sure it was clear to her and to anybody around her that he was completely and totally infatuated with her. She was _so_ lucky to have a boyfriend like Prescott.

"I'm only going to stay for a moment," he said, pecking her on the cheek and shattering her dreams of being adored all in one fell swoop. "I have to get back to revising." He explained apologetically. Rose stared.

"Prescott," she began, trying not to get annoyed. "We have _months_ until NEWTs, and we all know you're going to ace your exams next week, you've been studying nonstop all semester. Can't you just spend one night forgetting your work? For me?" she smiled up at him in a way she hoped would come across as irresistible and coy rather than wheedling and whiny.

She knew instantly that it was the wrong thing to say.

His eyebrows furrowed, and he flicked his cute floppy hair out of his eyes. Rose willed it to come back. "Rose, I take my studies very seriously." He spoke slowly, as if talking to a child. "I thought you would understand, being Head Girl, but I'm beginning to think that perhaps our priorities lie in different places." He nodded suggestively towards the bright colored drink in her hand.

Rose was furious. How dare he accuse her of being careless about her studies? She was Head Girl, for Merlin's sake. All she did was revise and go to class and patrol the castle like a good little girl. She deserved to cut loose once in a while.

"Look," Prescott said, before she could get out an angry retort. "I will see you tomorrow, and we can assess the situation fully, but right now, I just don't see that this is really working." He paused and checked his watch, as if irked that he was already late for his precious study date with himself. "Have a nice night, Rose. I will see you in the morning. And… please be careful." His eyes flickered to the drink again, away from the stony look on her face.

And with that, he kissed her forehead and left the Slytherin common room.

Rose silently wordlessly walked past her friends, who had witnessed the entire exchange in shock, and poured herself another drink.

* * *

Rose _loved_ alcohol. It started off tasting a bit sweet and icky, as if it were covering up a stronger, much more vile taste underneath, but after the fourth – or was it fifth?- drink, she decided that she had never tasted anything better in her _entire life. _

She stumbled her way over to the couch, where her brother Hugo was attempting to chat up a very pretty fifth year Hufflepuff girl. Rose slid next to her brother, giggling.

"I love you," she said, grabbing his curly head and wrapping her arms around it so that he struggled to see.

"Erm, Rose?" he said, clearly annoyed that she was throwing off his pulling technique. "Could you maybe let go of my head? Please?"

She made no move to get off of him, but instead kissed the bright colored curls on his head and said quietly, almost as if to herself, "Little brother."

"I've got this one handled, mate." Came a new voice, one Rose recognized. It was silky and smooth and just slightly aristocratic sounding. Strong arms untangled her own from her brother's mop of hair and picked her up effortlessly. She closed her eyes, admiring the strength and the warmth of this kind stranger. Not to mention the smell… something minty and fresh, with just a hint of…

Her eyes flew open.

She peered up, almost nervous to see Scorpius' strong jawline just inches from her face, so close she could see the hint of blonde stubble that he'd missed shaving that morning. He carried her upstairs, into what she could only assume was his empty dormitory, and placed her gently on a bed that smelled similarly minty. She stilled, scared that he would leave her once he'd set her down and go rejoin the party, but he sat beside her on the edge of the bed, far enough away to still be respectful.

He smiled down at her bemusedly, "You all right?"

Rose smiled up at him, drinking him in. He was even more handsome up close. Slowly, she lifted one hand to his face to stroke the smooth skin of his cheek. He stilled instantly, the smile fading off of his face and replaced by something harder, more intense. Rose felt the sudden urge to kiss the worry line between his blond eyebrows away.

She silently looked around the room. The bed she was sitting on was half-made, the pillow still containing the outline of where his head had rested the night before. His Quidditch uniform hung out of the open trunk at the foot of his bed, still grass-stained and slightly dirty from the day's match. Rose recalled how wonderful he'd looked in those tight, black Quidditch pants of his, riding effortlessly on his broom, high above the crowd...

"Thank you for taking care of me," she said quietly, trying her hardest not to slur her words. The world seemed very dizzy now. She sat up to still herself, and he held her shoulders, as if reading her mind. Rose closed her eyes briefly, breathing in, then breathing out. Somehow, her hot forehead came to rest on his cool one. It stilled her dizziness, but suddenly her chest felt as if it contained the flapping wings of a Hungarian Horntail. She inhaled his scent, so close to her now, and she had trouble concentrating on anything else. He was so close.

She had watched him from afar all week, studying easy movements and carefree demeanor, but there was nothing carefree or easy about what he was doing now. His silver eyes traced her face, as if trying to memorize her features. She could tell he was having just as much trouble breathing as she was, because she could hear it coming out in ragged spurts. His eyes flicked downwards, to her agape lips, and she licked them nervously.

She had to do something, to satiate the Horntail. Rose knew that if she didn't calm the dragon in her heart, she would never get to sleep tonight. It beat against her chest, threatening to burst free any minute, so she did the only rational thing she could think of.

She kissed him.


	4. As If By Accident

**A/N: Hey, guys! ****I am so sorry for taking such a long time to upload. Work and life and everything happened, and it took a lot longer than I thought to resolve that little cliffhanger I left for you at the end of the last chapter. Apologies. The good news is, I have the rest of the story mapped out, and I think we are looking at about 4 more chapters to wrap this baby up! Stay tuned! As always, thank you so much to the people who have taken the time to favorite or follow the story, you have no idea how much it means to me. Here's chapter 4, and 5 is mostly written and should be up within a few days! Love you all!**

* * *

**Chapter 4: As if by Accident**

_Rose knew that if she didn't calm the dragon in her heart, she would never get to sleep tonight. It beat against her chest, threatening to burst free any minute, so she did the only rational thing she could think of._

_ She kissed him._

* * *

Scorpius froze for a second, his lips beneath hers slightly open as if in shock.

Rose was just about to back off, to realize, even in her drunken stupor, that this was a bad idea, when something clicked in him and he came to life.

Suddenly, his hands were everywhere. There was one in her hair, tangling its way through her mass of red curls, cupping her face closer to his as his lips teased her own, his tongue slowly and tantalizingly sliding its way across her bottom lip, as if asking for entrance. The other hand ran up and down her arm, tracing circles and patterns that, even through her jumper, left scorching heat like a tattoo across her skin.

She breathlessly, dizzily only thought of being closer to him. As if reading her mind, he pulled her onto his lap, his hand cupping her bum, drawing her closer to him. She felt an involuntary shiver go through her body, shocking her straight to the core.

All too soon, his hands slowed, and his tongue stopped performing its tantalizing task of darting in and out of her mouth. Scorpius placed his palms on either side of her face, cupping it gently, and sighed into her still open mouth. "Rose, we can't do this." He breathed softly, his voice laced with regret.

Rose instantly sobered at his tone. She stood up from his lap, as if burned, and straightened her jumper, refusing to meet his pleading gaze. She was sure her face was flaming with embarrassment.

"Right, well, sorry about that." Rose was surprised to hear very little waver in her voice, despite that she had been dizzy and slurring only a minute ago. "Sorry… I will just be off then…" she smoothed her skirt which had somehow ridden up to expose her knickers in their heat of passion. Scorpius' eyes followed her movements for a moment before the situation registered in his inebriated mind.

"Rose, please don't go. Let me explain – I didn't mean – I don't want –"

Rose inhaled sharply at his words. _I don't want- _even in her drunken state, she didn't need to be a genius to imagine the end of that sentence. She was such a prize _idiot_. He had a girlfriend, Cecily, who was soft and pretty and had huge… well, why would he be interested in her? They were friends, nothing more, and she had ruined that with her stupid drunken antics and the fact that she couldn't _bloody _stop thinking about him in that shower.

Rose backed out of the room, only stumbling a bit. "Thank you for taking care of me tonight, Scorpius. Truly, I appreciate it, but I do need to be going now." She was almost at the door when she heard him speak again.

"Fine, leave! Don't let me explain." She was surprised to hear anger in his usually cool voice.

Rose turned to see him sitting on his bed, looking slightly like a petulant child, his arms crossed and his grey eyes narrowed in an emotion she had never seen from him before.

She huffed. He didn't want her and he was going to make her sit through an explanation of how he would rather snog Cecily? "Well, I'm sorry, but I think it has been made fairly clear here that this was an absolute mistake!" she bit back.

His grey eyes flared, and he stood from the bed, his arms still crossed. The closer he came to her, the more she felt the control of the liquor over her. Or perhaps that was just him.

"Well if that's all you think this was…" he said, challenging her.

Her chin lifted defiantly. "Yes. That's all I think this was." His jaw clenched, and she felt the sudden need to kiss it, so that the bunch of muscles would soften. She shook her head, trying to get the thought out. She laughed. "Who even knows if I will remember this in the morning?" She retorted, as if this settled the matter. His eyes flashed dangerously, but she felt like laughing.

This was ridiculous. She did _not _have feelings for Scorpius Malfoy. She did _not _want to kiss him again, even if he was so close now and she could smell his minty smell, and see how soft his lips were… if only his beautiful eyes weren't glaring at her as if the very sight of her made him sick.

He crossed to the heavy oak door, and opened it, looking pointedly at her. Rose crossed slowly to leave, her eyes trained resolutely on the floor until she passed him. She looked back, to say what, she didn't know, but he was already closing the door behind her. Just before it slammed shut, she caught a glimpse of him. All of the softness he usually reserved for her, in his smile, or the twinkle of mischief in his eyes was gone. She had never thought he looked as much like a true Malfoy as he did in that moment.

* * *

Rose awoke with a massive headache, unlike she'd ever had before. There was the time Gryffindor had one the House Cup last year and they'd partied all day, but even then she had been able to bounce back the morning after. But this, this was excruciating.

Her dorm mates didn't seem to be in much better shape. Glancing around the room through squinted eyes, Rose could see that all three of the other girls were still in bed, in varying states of consciousness and health. Jillian was still snoring to her left, one long leg hanging off her four-poster, while Ellie had charmed the bucket next to her bed to clean itself whenever she needed to purge her insides. Her friend looked up with bleary dark eyes from such event now, and shot a grimace at Rose. Mary, she noted, slept happily in Albus' Quidditch shirt, last night's makeup smeared all over her porcelain face.

By the time all of the girls had woken and gathered the strength to arise, lunch time was long gone. The four wandered down to the Hogwarts kitchens, pausing every so often to let Ellie puke in the loo.

"I think you've got every toilet in Hogwarts now, El" Jill teased as their friend came out of yet another, charming her mouth to be washed out. The motley crew finally reached the kitchens, and Mary tickled the pear to let them inside.

When they had finished off two rounds of tea and a heaping plate of warm scones baked fresh by the house elves, the girls finally felt well enough to recap the previous night.

"Did you see Lysander Scamander and Holly Matthews going at it last night?" Jillian laughed, her eyes lighting up with the memory.

"Merlin, _yes, _I thought he was going to eat her face off!" Mary giggled, her hand covering her mouth as a crumb fell out.

"I'm just glad it was Lysander and not Lorcan," Jill sighed, shaking her blonde head, "I'd be devastated if Lorc got with anyone that wasn't me!"

Rose's mouth fell open, surprised that her best friend would be so forthcoming about her crush.

"Jillian Longbottom!" she exclaimed, hitting the other girl's arm, "Didn't your dad date his mum at one time?"

"Oh what does it matter?" Jill said, rolling her eyes. "It's not like we're related or anything... at least as far as I know." The girls all laughed.

"What ever happened to you last night, Rose?" Ellie asked, frowning. "I remember seeing you with Hugo, and then I didn't see you for the rest of the night."

Rose frowned. She honestly didn't remember. There was the awful moment with Prescott… then several drinks… an embarrassing few minutes where she and Albus revived a dance move they'd invented as children… a few more drinks… then hugging Hugo on the couch, and… _oh._ She gasped, her hands flying to her mouth.

"What?!" all three of her friends said at once, their eyes wide.

"Oh Merlin, no…" Rose worried, willing her memory to come back fully and affirm that it wasn't true, that it was all just a bizarre dream. But no, the more she thought about it, she could remember the way his lips covered hers, and the odd mixture of embarrassment and anger and heat she'd felt upon leaving at the end of the night…

She looked up at her friends, where they were all waiting expectantly for her to say something, their eyebrows raised in worry.

"I think I snogged Scorpius Malfoy last night."

There were a few moments of silence as the girls processed this, then –

"'Good for you!" Jill exclaimed, slapping Rose on the back. The redhead looked incredulously at her friend.

"Rose…" Mary said slowly, as if still processing, "What about Prescott?"

"Oh, he's a tosser, Ro." Jill said, met by pointed looks from their friends. "What?" she retorted, rolling her green eyes. "We all saw what a massive wanker he was last night. You should just ditch him and be done with it. Besides, Malfoy is _fit._" She waggled her eyebrows.

"As much as I hate to say it, I do agree with Jill," Ellie said, sighing. "Prescott has definitely been holding you back, and I see the way you interact with him, he doesn't make you happy. Malfoy, on the other hand, at least you have things in common with." Jillian nodded along enthusiastically.

"However –" Ellie continued, glancing pointedly at Jill as she did so, "I do worry about Scorpius' reputation. You know he has had a bit of a past, and I would hate to see you go the same way as people like Laura Davies or that twit Harper."

Rose sighed. She knew all of her friends' hearts were in the right place, but she was in no position to date Scorpius, let alone even consider it. Though it was fuzzy, her memory reminded her that last night had not ended so well. She told them this.

"It sounds to me like the two of you need to talk." Mary finally said, after the girls had pondered this new information for a moment. "If you two are truly as good of friends as we all know you are, then you can sort through this together. And whatever is meant to be – be it friendship or anything beyond that - will happen as it should."

Rose just hoped her friend was right.

* * *

The rest of the week passed without much excitement. Days were spent in exams to wrap up the term before the winter holidays, and nights were spent revising. Rose attempted many times to catch Prescott alone, but he always seemed to be too busy for her, or with his study mates from Ravenclaw. She had even gone up to Ravenclaw tower one night to see if she could catch him in the Common Room, but as a very smug Valerie Higgins told Rose that Prescott was very busy with his studies and could not possibly see her just now, would she try back again later? Rose left, violently cursing Valerie Higgins under her breath.

In her heart, she knew the relationship with Prescott was over. Even if that silly kiss with Scorpius hadn't happened – she blushed with the memory – she knew that she and Prescott were in two different places as far as what they wanted out of life. He seemed perfect on paper; the charming, handsome, brilliant Ravenclaw prefect with the softest hair she'd ever felt, but there was very little substance behind her relationship with Prescott. She'd thought he was nice to look at and admired his intelligence, but what else?

He didn't make her laugh, he didn't understand her. He'd even told her once he couldn't stand flying, which Rose absolutely could not comprehend. And plus, there was no heat. There were no butterflies when she was near him, and there was no fire in the pit of her stomach when she thought about kissing him. Unlike with certain blond Slytherins she could mention…

But she wasn't thinking about that right now.

And so, that's how Rose came to be back in her parents' house, on Winter Holidays, still in a relationship with Prescott Branstone. Or at least, just barely. She had seen him for a fleeting moment on the train platform before he'd gone off with his rather serious-looking mother and father, where he kissed her on the cheek and promised they'd speak after break. Of course, as soon as he'd done so, she looked up to meet the steely grey gaze of Scorpius Malfoy, who'd frozen only ten feet away from where they were, watching Prescott walk away. His ominous gaze was still burned into her memory.

Rose sighed, falling back onto the plush bed she'd had from childhood. Its polka-dotted pink sheets were slightly outdated now that she was nearing 18, but the sight of them always made her feel safe.

She sighed, realizing that this may be one of the last times she was to be living at home with her parents. She and Al planned on getting a flat together in London as soon as they graduated from Hogwarts in the spring. James had even promised to help them find one near to his. She glanced around the room – at the old Cannons posters she'd hung as a child to appease her dad, even though the Tutshill Tornadoes had always been her favorite team. She smiled at the picture of her huge extended family all huddled around Victoire and Teddy in the garden of her grandparents' home last summer for their wedding, and then winced as she recalled the way James and Fred had charmed her shoes to start dancing whenever a fast song was played. Rose frowned. She still needed to get those two back for that one.

"Rosie?" a soft knock came at the door, accompanied by her mother's voice. Without waiting for affirmation from her daughter, Hermione Weasley entered the room with a steaming mug of tea that she placed at Rose's bedside. Rose smiled in thanks.

"Can I sit?" the older witch asked her daughter. Rose nodded, taking a sip of her tea. _Mmmm. _Lots of milk and no sugar, just the way she liked it.

"It's so nice to have you home again." Her mum started, and Rose instinctively snuggled closer. Her head came to rest on her mother's shoulder, and Hermione stroked her daughter's back. This had always been their way.

"It's nice to be home," Rose admitted with a sigh, "It's been a bit of a strange semester."

"Oh?" Her mother smiled, her eyebrows raising, "Does this have anything to do with the boy I saw you with on the platform?" Rose blushed, hiding her head in her mum's shoulder. Hermione laughed. "Is he your boyfriend?"

"I don't know," Rose said honestly, sitting up straight to look at her mother. "He was… but now, I don't know. I guess not."

Hermione looked at her daughter, puzzled. "You don't seem to be too upset by it," she deduced, stealing a sip of Rose's tea. "So why don't you tell me what's really bothering you?"

Rose sighed. How was she going to explain this situation to her mother? She couldn't very well say that she was mildly obsessed with the one boy her father had warned her to stay away from, who happened to be one of her best friends, and was also currently involved with a pretty blonde.

"Well," she started, unsure, "have you ever had feelings for somebody you felt you shouldn't? Or felt as if these feelings would ruin everything between you and this person?" she was sure she wasn't making any sense.

Hermione laughed heartily, stroking down her daughter's wild mane of hair. "Oh love, I tried to hide that I was in love with your father for years before I actually admitted it to myself, let alone to him or anyone else."

Rose perked up. She had heard countless stories of her parents' childhood, but the war and their various adventures had eclipsed any stories of school day romance. She knew her mum and dad had been friends for ages and had, somewhere along the line, fell in love. It surprised her that her parents would have held off being together for so long.

"Why didn't you want to admit it?" she asked Hermione, curling her knees up to her chest.

"Well, we were best friends. I think we both knew that admitting our feelings would bring a new element to our relationship that we didn't want to add until we knew we were both ready." Her mother smiled fondly, her eyes distant. Rose watched, enraptured. "When a relationship forms out of friendship, you have to be ready for the idea that you could be in it for the long haul." She finally said, gazing fondly down at her daughter. There was a moment where neither woman spoke.

A knock came at the door.

"Anybody home? I come bearing biscuits." Rose's father stuck his freckled head into the room, with the goofiest grin she had ever seen, a smear of chocolate on the tip of his rather long nose. Rose laughed in spite of herself as Hermione rolled her eyes.

"'My husband, ladies and gentlemen." She said, standing to wipe the chocolate off of his face. Ron swifly kissed her as Rose pretended to gag.

"Hey Rosie," her dad began, switching into business mode. "When you're done chatting with your mum, can you come down to the garden? Hugh wants to show me his new Quidditch strategies, and we need a third chaser." Rose agreed to his request, and he went to find Hugo, taking the biscuits with him as he left. Hermione rolled her eyes for a second time.

Rose watched as her mother picked an imaginary piece of lint off of Mr. Bear, the teddy she'd had since childhood who proudly sat upon her bookshelf.

Hermione smiled fondly at the bear, then turned back to her daughter. "Whoever he is, make sure he's deserving of your love." She reached for Rose, dusting her as she'd just done the bear. "If you are truly as afraid of losing him as you seem to be, then he must be a very good friend. Ask yourself if the fear of putting your heart at risk to be hurt would be worth it, if he did reciprocate your feelings. You may be surprised at what could happen if you do try." She smiled one last time, and exited the room.


End file.
